… As Judge Asks Him To Appear Before Court June 18
SAN FRANCISCO, June 08, (THEWILL) – Ahead of the inauguration of the new 8th National Assembly and election of the principal officers of both the Senate and the House of Representatives scheduled to hold on Tuesday, an exparte application seeking to stop the House of Representatives from accepting the nomination of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila for the post of the Speaker of the House has suffered a temporary setback.
This is as a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja where the application was filed, Monday, refused the application pending the determination of the main suit filed against Gbajabiamila by the Registered Trustees of Social Justice and Civil Rights Awareness Initiative.
Instead, the trial judge, Justice Abdul Kafarati, has ordered Gbajabiamila to appear before him on June 18 to come and show why the application seeking to stop the House of Reps from accepting his nomination as Speaker should not be granted.
Gbajabiamila had emerged the leading candidate for the position in a mock election recently conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Joined as the 2nd and the 3rd defendants respectively in the motion on notice filed alongside the ex parte application are the House of Representatives and the Attorney-General of the Federation while Gbajabiamila is the first defendant.
In the main suit, the plaintiff sought an interim injunction against the defendants just like it did in the ex parte.
According to the plaintiff, Gbajabiamila was allegedly convicted in the state of Georgia, United States of America, for unethical practices in the course of his practice as a lawyer.
Gbajabiamila was further said to have been suspended from practising as a lawyer for 36 months in Georgia State of the USA.
Gbajabiamila was further accused of allegedly possessing United States of America’s passport even as a Nigerian descent.
Also, the plaintiff claimed that possession of two passports contravened the Nigerian constitution as regards membership of the House of Representatives.
Ruling on the matter, the trial judge said rather than granting an order to stop the House from accepting Gbajabiamila’s nomination, processes should rather be served on all the respondents in the suit.
In the affidavit filed in support of the ex parte application, the chairman, Board of Trustees of the Social Justice and Civil Rights Awareness Initiatives, Alozie Nmeregwa, alleged that Gbajabiamila’s character had been tainted and therefore not qualified to hold the office of the Speaker.
The affidavit reads in part, “That few days ago, it came to public knowledge that the 1st defendant was a leading candidate to the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“That my organisation following the wind of change that has pervaded the political environment in Nigeria deemed it proper to carry out a background check on the leading candidates for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“That I discovered that the 1st defendant was a lawyer and practised in the United States of America, particularly in the state of Georgia.
“That upon further enquiry I discovered that the 1st defendant was convicted in the state of Georgia for unethical practices and was disbarred for 36 months.”
“That I also discovered that the 1st defendant has United States international passport even though he has Nigerian decent discovered contravened our Constitution regards membership of the House of Representatives.”
“That the mood of the nation today will not warrant placing the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the hands of any individual that has tainted or questionable character.”
The plaintiff, in the motion on notice, urged the court to determine “whether, upon the construction of Section 66 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the 1st defendant is a fit and proper person to be elected to the House of Representatives and/or the office of the office the Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
The plaintiff consequently urged that the 1st defendant is not a fit and proper person to be elected as a member of the House of Representatives and/or as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He is therefore praying for “An order of injunction restraining the 2nd defendant from accepting the nomination of the 1st defendant as an aspirant for the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“An order of injunction restraining the 1st defendant from parading himself as a member of the House of Representatives and also as an aspirant for the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
